Can Aging be Prevented by Nanotechnology?

Nanotechnology is one of those words that is rather frequently waved off as “science fiction stuff.” Because it isn’t prevalent in consumer technology, few people know about it.

So, nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular and supramolecular scale.

For now, the key plans for nanotech are biological. Many scientists believe that it can and will protect against diseases by being assimilated into the bloodstreams as microscopic robots. These nanobots would search the body for tell-tale symptoms of terminal diseases, report findings to a computer and stop them before they manifest by reconstructing defective tissue, destroying irreparable tissue and this is done virtually automatically. Note that nanobot are robotics measured by nanometers (1mm= 1,000,000 nanometers), but most nanobots currently being studied are within the range of 0.1-10 micrometers, that is 0.0001-0.1mm.

Some scientists take it further by believing that it could prevent dying itself!

We age because at each regeneration of our cells, a very identical copy is made. In a man’s lifetime, so many identical copies of copies would have been made that there will be a deterioration. Each time, some detail is lost in the copying. With time, the difference becomes so clear that it could pass for an entirely different thing.

Ray Kurzweil, computer scientist, engineer and winner of the US National Medal of Technology, states that with the development of nanotechnology joined with biotechnology, aging would be essentially cured. He also predicts that anyone alive in 2050 would have a higher chance of living longer (up to 10 times) than the present average.

Nanotech research has used up billions. The US itself has spent nearly $4bn, Europe over $1.2bn, Japan almost $1bn.

This does come with questions that need answers. Are we not already overpopulated? Would people want or have the resources to live that long? Would it only apply to the elite while skipping the middle-class and developing countries?

But for now, would you take a nanobot pill if you were guaranteed to live a thousand years longer?